The present invention relates to a minimal contact prosthesis and particularly to such a prosthesis to be utilized in arthroplasty, for example hip arthroplasty. Research in arthroplasty has focused on the hip but is equally significant in other joints such as the knee, ankle, shoulder and elbow.
There have been many advances in providing and fixing replacement joints. Among the more important are the discovery of cold-curing acrylic cements for fixation of the components in a prepared bone cavity and the provision of low frictional torque components.
Earlier prostheses for the proximal part of the femur were made of metal and were used to replace the femoral head in fractures, copying as exactly as possible the shape and the size of the proximal part of the femur in order to fit into a corresponding acetabular cavity.